Foundation of an Autonomous Colony

The Foundation of an Autonomous Colony on another cosmic body is one of the most challenging tasks for humanity. Though it requires enormous effort, the effort to expand the influence of mankind throughout the Solar system is worthwhile enough. The motivation has several aspects. This page covers general issues of an autonomous colony on Mars.

What is an autonomous colony? The main attribute is independence from Earth. Once the colony is set up, it provides a habitat for settlers on the long run, hopefully forever. And this is the second attribute: The colony is planned to be stable indefinitely, and can thrive from local resources. Unlike a mission with planned death the settlers in an autonomous colony have a future for themselves and for their Mars-born children.

Preparations

Bringing down Phobos before a settlement is built may help to make Mars safe for the long term.

Since people can not live in the natural environment a basic artificial habitat with houses, supplies and equipment for a long term stay is deposited on Mars' surface. The equipment is technologically sufficient to allow the colonists to grow their own food, build new houses etc.

There are many uncertainties with the alien environment. The equipment is tested on Earth thoroughly, but still the influence of the Martian environment might not be understood completely. The safest way is an unmanned setup of a whole settlement by an automated and remote controlled machinery.

The Departure

The transportation of colonists is the most complicated part. Health threats (radiation sickness) or even death during the journey is hard to avoid. See also: Solar Radiation, Cosmic Radiation, Meteorites

Organizational Issues

The preparation costs for a mission like this is tremendous. A financial effort estimation helps to get an overview.

In a small group of colonists a daily council of all members is held. In a growing community some kind of representative democracy becomes necessary.

A growing number of members in a martian population goes along, unfortunately, with a growing number of cases of death. The way of arranging funerals is to be discussed.

Medical Issues

Quarantine

Before heading for Mars any crew is quarantined to ensure they do not suffer from infectious diseases. As a result, the martian colony should be more or less free from pathogenic germs, which saves medical effort. However, for children born on Mars an even more effective vaccination program will be necessary to stimulate the development of Mars-born immune systems.

Inbreeding

The size of the human population must not be too small due to the risk of inbreeding depression.